Self Defence
by Skyeblux
Summary: He thought he'd never see her again but as a scream pierces the Cardiff night, he learns he was wrong.  But who's saving who?  Jack/Rose A kinkmeme inspired one-shot.
1. Bump in the Night

He never thought he'd see her again, his beautiful, blonde angel, though of course, he'd hoped. It was torture but of the addictive kind, when even the pain of fantasy and memory was preferable to the stark loneliness of truth. He'd punish himself with images and imagined sensations of what might have been; obsessive sexual dreams that fractured the known timeline and had him lost in the arms and buried in the bodies of the two people he loved and trusted more than his previous Time Agent/Con-man mind had thought possible. But now she was listed in the names of the dead and that bought such a painful, sickening reality that even his perverse, sex-crazed brain couldn't deflower the only memories and experiences of her he had left.

Then it happened. He was alone of an evening, as was usually the case, and walking aimlessly about the darkness-corrupted streets of Cardiff - the moans of couples in alleys, the smell of sex and alcohol on the stagnant, humid air rushing out of the back doors of clubs, the man bundling himself into a taxi, spraying heavy cologne as he made his way home to his wife – night when all the desires and passions and needs of humanity were flaunted and filled. But he was alone.

Suddenly he heard a scream that chilled his melancholy. Exploding neurons fired and adrenalin pumped as the instinctual alert state of preservation and awareness flooded his system. He took off at a run, listening intently for direction over the screech of burning tyres, drunken laughter and speeding taxies.

Past the library, rounding the basement club, down the alley and there it was – a weavel and a damsel in distress, blonde hair licking a muddy puddle as she scrambled backwards on the ground, like a crab, never taking her eyes off the advancing being.

Jack approached cautiously and quietly not wanting to startle the beast into either advancing or fleeing. He wasn't in the mood for a game of chase and needed to deal with efficient alacrity. When he was about a foot from the woman he whispered, "When I tell you to, run." A shiver seemed to thrum through her body and she nodded carefully, still not losing her intense focus.

Slowly Jack removed his blaster and set it to stun. He then edged to the side of the girl and drove the weavel closer to the wall, putting the dumpsters in its path and giving her a clear escape route.

"RUN!" he bellowed and levelled his weapon and fired. The alien was too fast and the shot deflected off a rusty door as the weavel lunged towards him. Luckily the captive victim scooted back and to her feet with the distraction and he could focus on the hunt now that she was at a safe distance although, he noted, she didn't flee.

The beast rocked him over with his bulk and used its weight to try to restrain and maul the Captain. He was at a disadvantage, trying to shove it off against gravity just enough to give him room to take aim once more. Suddenly the thing lurched to the side with a howl, a blunt object connecting with the side of its skull. Now it was pissed but Jack had already moved and fired at point blank range. It slumped defeated to the ground with an audible groan of exhalation. Jack quickly moved to secure it and get on top of the situation.

"Thanks," he enthused as he cuffed the poor beast, dragging its body to the stairs of a nearby fire exit, hoping it would stay unconscious long enough for him to discreetly fetch an SUV and make it disappear into the Cardiff night.

"Anytime! Looked like you were having some difficulty and what's a girl to do? Leave her handsome knight to get mauled while she skips back to her castle?"

Jack battled with a will power (or perhaps weakness) he didn't know he possessed as he uttered one word before turning to face his fear of mistaken reality, "Rose?"

"Bet you thought you were done saving me?" she smirked, standing so close, so vivid and so alive, mischief twinkling in slightly misted eyes.

"Oh my God, Rose!" And in a second they were in each others arms, squeezing so tight he feared bones would break and hearts would puncture!

Quickly pushing her back, needing desperately to see her for affirmation, he cupped her face and kissed her. He didn't even think about it. It was the most natural reaction in the world. His kiss was hungry and fumbling with none of the usual Harkness finesse but when she kissed back just as passionately, he didn't care.

"I missed you so much!" they both gasped in unison when eventually their lungs demanded that they part. Gentle, deft caresses were exchanged, fingers smoothing over faces and down arms, relearning, memorising and needing the touch and closeness so much.

As shouts broke out from the front of the club they realised they'd soon have company and the spell was broken or at least put on hold for duty and secrecy.


	2. Lessons Learned

Chapter 2 – Lessons Learned

Rose stood guard as Jack fetched transport and together, they manhandled the weavel into the SUV and headed to the Hub. Neither spoke as Jack automatically granted her access and they worked together to secure the still, thankfully, unconscious threat. There was too much to say, neither knew where to start but knew that an interruption from their 'guest' would be immensely inconvenient.

Once it was locked down a frenzy came over Rose and she couldn't stand the silence a moment longer. She pulled Jack into the nearest room and he automatically turned on the lights that blinked as they fizzed into function, illuminating a screened, long area for target practice.

"It's very retro, your Torchwood, I mean. All grungy and subterranean. I like it," she smiled, suddenly seeming flustered and nervous.

"Sorry I wasn't expecting company. It's the housekeeper's day off. I don't usually show pretty, young things my private parts until I've at least bought them dinner and drinks," he leered because his default shock tactics usually shifted the dynamic to make him feel more in control and give him stalling time while his brain scrambled to catch up.

"I do feel honoured!" she laughed.

"You should. I feel very exposed."

"Of course you do, you're still dressed! Never met a man who is more comfortable naked than clothed but then again it's been a long time since I've felt this naked without the intervention of tequila. No one else knows me like you do, understands me like you do. I guess seeing you makes me have to face myself and the past. Silly really to be nervous as that's why I'm here – running after ghosts!"

She was biting her thumb in that unconscious way that always made him want to rip her hand away and scold her for hiding her mouth. She looked so vulnerable and so adorable at the same time but harder somehow, stronger or perhaps weaker, replacing the armour of ignorance and innocence with the colder barriers of experience.

"He's not with you?" he whispered quietly, already knowing the answer and both breaking with sympathy and mounting with rage. Abandoning him was one thing but Rose, hurting Rose, that was not allowed. At one time they found connection through their shared need to protect her and now the Doctor was the enemy that she needed protection from.

"It wasn't like that. He had no choice. I was taken from him. He was taken from me. I got stranded in a parallel universe and he couldn't get to me, not that time. I tried to forget, to move on, to live like he'd want me to but maybe this time I am supposed to save him. When I saw the chance I had to take it. Haven't found him yet, keep missing him, but I will, I will find him because unless we're together we'll always be alone."

"Oh Rosie," he swept her into his arms and the unspoken knowledge shared between them made him feel like he belonged for the first time in over a hundred years.

"I know I'm a poor substitute but…"

"Never," she interrupted. "Never. The Doctor's not the only one I need Jack, not the only one I love. I saw you before, on another jump. I didn't know what to do, to say. I thought you were dead but if you weren't… Oh my God, Jack! What did we do?" Her eyes pierced his, begging him to listen and believe and suddenly this thing that had hounded his waking thoughts, this purpose and goal that had eluded him and drove him, didn't seem to matter any more, seemed so trivial in the face of seeing her again, of holding her again.

"Doesn't matter…" he muttered as he peeled her small hand from his face and kissed her trembling knuckles. "I've never been so glad that I was in the right place at the right time than tonight. I'd forgotten how jeopardy friendly you are. On the Tardis the unspoken mission statement was basically: 'Save Rose Tyler!'"

"Oi! I didn't need to be rescued you know. I can take care of myself." He arched a mocking eyebrow at her and that was enough. She spun round and grabbed a gun that sat innocuously in one of the booths.

"Wow girl! I don't doubt you but watch where you're pointing that thing!" He hastened to her side as she squared her shoulders and turned to the black, silhouetted target on the far wall. He reached her in two strides and moulded his hips to hers, stroking a hand down her outstretched arm and closing it over hers, around the gun.

"Let's not be too hasty, yeah? Let me show you how it's done?"

Unseen, Rose Tyler smirked and rolled her eyes before feigning innocence.

"Sorry. I guess I got a little overexcited there. Guess I need a big strong man with your brand of talents and skills!"

He chuckled, his breath ghosting over her ear as he placed a hand on her hips and aligned them perfectly, one body becoming the extension of the other. "Oh, I have every faith that you'll be a quick learner! Now just relax, breathe!"

Like a good girl she did what she was told, that husky, confident voice making it almost impossible to stay irritated at his antiquated misogyny.

"I hold it like this, right?"

"Wow, don't choke it." He stroked circles gently on her flesh until her grip lightened.

"You don't want it going off prematurely!" She saw the saucy wink in her mind's eye and thought - right, two can play at that game!

"The shafts thicker than I expected. Maybe it's too big for me. Should I use a smaller weapon?" she queried meekly.

"Well I'd say size doesn't matter but I'd be lying!" His hand moved ever so slightly upwards to her stomach and the pressure there was simply divine. She pushed back a little against the hard planes of his body and smiled wickedly at his surprised hiss.

"The Doctor would kill me for teaching you how to use a gun!" he recovered.

"I don't think it was that kind of weapon he was most worried about!"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're alluding to?"

"Hmmm…maybe a little demonstration to get the 'point' across?" she questioned seductively before shucking off his wandering hands and firing six rounds in a neat, clustered circle at the eunuch-ed groin of the facsimile target. The blasts were violently percussive in the small space and Jack unconsciously jerked at the impacts, going wide-eyed and breathing heavily as he took in the practiced, rigid posture of a girl soldier and the juxtaposition of her soft, inviting curves and willowing hair.

She turned, grinning like a Cheshire cat and dismantling the firearm with nonchalant ease.

"I'm not a gangly shop girl from some delinquent estate anymore. Trust me, I'm all woman." With that Rose sashayed into his arms and kissed him like some devilish temptress, all passion and technique; tongue stroking the roof of his mouth and forcing a traitorous groan to reverberate through liquid heat.

This was no wilting violet that needed protection from Jack's favourite brand of corruption. Back in the Tardis-travelling days of yore, Rose's culture and youth had stymied his advances more so that the gruff warnings from the Doctor. He had felt unworthy to entice such a delicate flower from a time period when sex was never just sex but came with a boat load of emotion and associations. In truth he came to realise that he was less concerned about Rose overcomplicating the act than he himself wishing that she would. She was so untainted, not virginal, but unsullied by the feelings of disillusion and frustration from war, politics, hunger, fear and every base instinct of the universe that left any optimist jaded. He feared his touch would be as self-destructively contagious as Midas' alchemy. As he looked at her now, he realised that he hadn't saved her but that his beautiful, spirited Rose had refused to be destroyed through suffering and loss and now, yes, she was a woman - confident, informed and even predatory.


	3. I'm not a Girl!

Chapter 3 – I'm not a girl!

Jack felt himself surrender to her power with the unexpected gratitude of finding someone strong enough to deal with all that he was. She walked him backwards effortlessly until her contacted with a wall and ground her hips against his.

"Best be careful. I think there are live bullets in your chamber!" she winked.

"Rose Tyler, you're stealing my lines, not that I'm complaining but a man could feel inadequate if you keep stripping him of his talents," he panted.

"Stripping sounds like a good idea to me and you could never be inadequate!" She dropped her mouth to the pulse point of his neck and began laving and suckling at the sensitive skin. Jack threw his head back, his eyes rolling with it, to allow her better access. Without ceremony, she quickly pushed his great coat off his shoulders, pulling his hips to hers so that the trapped garment could fall, forgotten to the floor and then attacked his shirt buttons and pinged his braces free. Finding flesh, her hair tickled his chest as she held him against the solid surface with a firm hand and ducked down to circle a pert nipple.

He hurried to return the favour, skimming large, potent hands under her low-necked top and divesting her of defunct clothes before nipping his way along collar bones and biting at bra straps to release further hindrances. God, she was beautiful – round, firm breasts, dusky at the points with arousal. Tickling fingers fluttered over flesh, soft moist lips in their wake until he found his focus and tugged a nipple into his hot mouth. She mewled against him, threading her fingers through his hair and firmly holding him in place as she encouraged him to bite harder, hissing as he complied and making pleading, wanton noises as her hips bucked for friction.

"Too distracting," she mumbled, reaching between them for her bra before smoothing thumbs deceptively gently down his arms and suddenly binding his wrists with the garment.

"How the…?" Jack was truly impressed and even more aroused than he remembered was possible.

She simply laughed and drew his arms above his head, jerking his belt free with one hand and then securing his wrists to the spring on the top of the door frame. She slapped him playfully when he started to protest. "You're mine tonight, oh great Captain and you will do anything I want." His answering moan and twitching of muscles seemed to please her as she stepped back with a smile and slowly began to finish undressing.

His eyes trained on the movement of caressing hands as more and more of Rose Tyler was revealed to him and he so longed to touch her, his arms straining against his bonds, the pressure and slight pain only making him curse and breath harder, swallowing rapidly to moisten his dry throat.

Normally such a vulnerable position meant certain doom but the dark promise in her eyes left him completely undone. She stripped him next and he swayed on the balls of his feet and writhed against the cool caress of the basement air. He let go of all thought, giving in purely to feeling and sensation as Rose traced each contour of muscle and expanse of smooth, soft skin with eager hands and lips, torturing him with the occasional tickle that made his body snap and strain. Then she sank to her knees and Jack had never seen more evidence for a goddess incarnate as this mere human woman.

She took her time just stroking and testing his reactions, feeling his hardness and lust in her hands before peppering gentle kisses along his length with whispered brevity that had him reeling and biting his lip for some semblance of control. How could he be so weak? Well the answer was obvious - it was Rose and she was naked and looking so sexual and alive and here, with him, him, the man who had begun to think that he was waiting for nothing.

He begged her, stumbling over her name as sweat trickled from his concentrated brow. She answered with the maddening solution of grabbing the base of his cock so tight that he saw stars and thought every blood vessel in his body would burst but the sting and pressure were exquisite and he shouted out his thanks or frustration or times tables, he didn't care.

"Oh no you don't. I want you inside me when you come," she half teased, half threatened.

With a flick of a once concealed knife which spurred yet another impressed groan especially when said sharp blade, dulled to quiet, the words on ravenous lips, she sliced her captive's cords and gravity and the momentum of his ardour crushed her down to the chilled, tiled floor.

In a breathless, timeless moment, he was inside of her, muscles giving a feeble protest as rippled spasms surged to accommodate his girth in the tight confines and a shocked and sacred 'O' of surprise was mirrored on each so familiar face. Breaking quickly the stupor of pleasure/pain, Rose locked her ankles around solid, arching hips, glistening, unblemished skin shifted with muscle on a toned back above her hold and below, a full and squeezable ass that drew her hands like the need of electricity to ground itself.

He rocked into her in earnest, all playful quips gone and replaced with words of relief, awe and devotion as they crested inexplicably high on the drug of hot skin against skin and the responsive nerve endings that sung in such intimate places.

Harder he thrust, her hair riding back under her from the halo it had formed as her body was roughly propelled a little along the floor. She was near sobbing with incoherent pleas of, 'More' and 'Yes' and 'Please' and 'God, Jack. Fuck me!'

All too soon the waves crashed to oblivion upon the shore, startling and stirring each grain of sand into a temporal tempest of energy and pleasure as unburdened and sated each sank back down to earth and placed the moment on 'pause' or 'loop', grinning madly after years of unresolved fantasies and repressed desires.

"You may be a woman but you don't fuck like a lady!" he chuckled in awe and wonder.

"Yeah, I got sick of being underestimated and learnt to brandish weapons like a man!"


End file.
